The Subject of Field Trips

Field Trips. We used to go on them with the children. The firm rule was that we would only go if there was one adult for two children, minimum, and sure enough we always had enough parents joining us for some fun. The experience for the children was worthwhile since we would target a destination to coincide with an area of study (a visit to the aquarium for fish or the zoo for mammals). We ordinarily had very responsible parents but then there were the ones that enjoyed socializing more than watching the children. It was talked about among the staff and we decided to implement what we call “Meet Up Dates” for the children and their families and it goes like this: once a month a destination is announced- a museum, park, playground, or other point of interest, and we post it on our parent Yahoo Group site. All the families that are interested meet there on a Saturday or Sunday. The children get to share a school-related experience with their parents, and the parents enjoy each other’s company. It’s been a very lovely solution, and one that has been, and I expect, will continue to be, very popular with the families as well.